RSCDS Glasgow

Seniors Group

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Next Event			July Meeting
Crookston Hotel, 90 Crookston Road, G52 3ND		Map
Date	Thursday, 11 July, 2013		Time	12 .00 for 12.30
Guest Musician	Singer Alison Patrick accompanied by her husband Alastair on guitar
Contact	Daphne Davidson		0141 954 9450
Contact	Mrs Katherine Morrison		0141 950 6235

RSCDS Glasgow Branch Seniors’ Group

HISTORY

(1999-Present)

In 1998, as part of the celebrations for the 75th Anniversary of The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society [and the anniversary of the first meeting held in Glasgow in 1923, leading to the formation of Glasgow Branch followed by other branches thereafter], a group of senior non-dancers and a few dancers who were still active attended an afternoon tea dance. They decided that they so very much enjoyed the social aspects of dancing and missed when they were no longer able to dance, that they wished to meet on a more regular basis, in a suitable venue. Hence, the first official meeting of the Seniors' Group was held in 1999 at the Ewington Hotel [Queens Park], organised by Ruth Beattie, assisted by Dorothy Paterson and Joyce Turkington.

This event has developed into about four meetings per year, including a Summer outing (optional) and a Christmas lunch. The general format for the ordinary meetings is to have a light lunch, followed by a speaker and/or musical entertainment. Further information with photographs recording past meetings may be found on the RSCDS Glasgow Branch website [www.rscdsglasgow.org] under Seniors. Please note that there is a charge to cover the costs of the meetings.

If you are interested in joining the group for a get-together, please contact Daphne Davidson on 0141 954 9450, or Sandy or Katherine Morrison on 0141 950 6235.

Seniors Meeting 16 April 2013 – David Ross


Three years after his first visit we were deighted to welcome back David Ross. David started his program with a tune from the new Glasgow Branch 90th Anniversary Collection, Finglas Castle which he wrote for Heather Battson's wedding to Alasdair Cown at Finglas Castle. Heather wrote the dance of the same name which appears in the book. A lively set of jigs followed, then a singalong medley of Scottish songs, the German Beerbarrel Polka, with its lively chorus of Roll Out the Barrel, and another singalong set but not Scottish this time.
David entertained with a few jokes, then a couple of Scottish medleys, a set of reels, more jokes, some Alpine music and Irish tunes, the ever popular Highland Cathedral which David heard at a tattoo in Berlin played by the young piper who was one of the composers. David, bravely offered to play requests, which came thick and fast and he took them all in his stride.
David talked about the three button accordion which he plays and how it differs from the 5 button and piano accordions. He responded to more requests and played more singalong music before finally finishing with some very popular dance tunes.
Thanks to David for a very entertaining afternoon.

Seniors Meeting 6 December 2012 – Christmas Lunch

For those who attended the new organiser's first event, namely the Christmas Lunch 2012 at the Crookston Hotel on Thursday 6 December, I hope you will agree that we had a very pleasant festive lunch of generous portions, marking a great start to the festive period. The hotel was nicely decorated for the season and the attendees arrived to Christmas music playing in the background, creating just the right ambience. It was pleasing to note that Mrs. Ruth Beattie, the initiator of the Glasgow Branch Seniors' Group, was among us as was Mrs. Nan Lawson, Glasgow Branch President and Mr. Alan Munro, Glasgow Branch Chairman along with a few other Glasgow Branch committee members. Thank you all for supporting the Seniors' Group with your presence. Sadly, missing from our company was Dick Daniel and Mrs. Winnie Urquhart. Our thoughts go out to Maureen Daniel and Maureen McCrudden for their untimely loss, especially just before Christmas.

In January we lost another Seniors' Group Member, Ian MacGilvray. Ian and his late wife Margaret lived in Bearsden. Both were dancers with Glasgow Branch and attended Branch classes. In addition, Ian had a family home in Port Ellen, Isle of Islay and was well known to local Islay folk and danced with the RSCDS Islay Branch.

Seniors Meeting 25th October 2012 - Ruth Beattie

Ruth has decided to stand down as organiser of the Seniors group, having served 13 years as its leader. For her final meeting, she chose to provide the entertainment herself. Ruth has been exceedingly busy in the last 4 years serving 2 years as Society Chairman elect and 2 years as Chairman of the Society. She decided to tell us what she has been doing during those 4 years. Ruth, with the help of Meg Barrowman and Iain Hutchison, had prepared a very comprehensive computer presentation to accompany the talk. Ruth has travelled extensively and been involved in a number of new initiatives for the Society. Her hectic schedule has taken her to Europe, Japan, Canada and America, New Zealand and Australia. For each trip Ruth has been involved in giving presentations and leading question and answer sessions and discussion forums, not easy when you are just off a long flight and feeling decidedly jet-lagged. Ruth glossed over the difficulties and concentrated on the enjoyment she got from meeting so many new and enthusiastic Society members. She went to dances and balls on every trip and had invited George Meikle to the meeting to play selections of music to illustrate Ruth's memories of these dances. George also played pieces to remind us of some of the initiatives that Ruth has been involved in, including the production of the booklet The Kandahar Reel with ABF The Soldiers Charity. Ruth also spoke about the Health Strategy, her latest project which proves that Scottish Country Dancing has a beneficial effect on our health and well-being.

At the end of the meeting Ruth introduced Daphne Davidson who has agreed to organise the group for at least the next 2 years. Katherine Morrison thanked Ruth for all she had done for the group in the past 13 years and presented her with a bouquet of flowers.

Seniors Meeting 9th August 2012 - Carl MacDougall

Instead of the usual Summer outing, the Seniors group opted for a meeting at the Crookston Hotel. Carl MacDougall, TV Presenter, currently teaching at the University of the Highlands and Islands gave a presentation to the group. He is foremost a writer, and has written non-fiction, short stories, poetry, scripts for radio, TV and theatre including several award winning novels. His knowledge of the history of the Scottish language is probably currently unparalleled.

Carl chose "Bad Poetry" as his subject, and quoted many extracts from English and Scottish writers, seriously written, but often unintentionally funny, or pathetic. He also covered the vernacular, illustrating that language is continually evolving, and much of what we often hear in Scotland makes no sense when translated literally to "Proper English". One example chosen to highlight this, involving an accused youth in court referring to a "tap" had everyone in stitches.

Carl was happy to field a series of questions. His answers were so enthralling, that the Hotel was forced to drop hints that our time was at an end, despite some people not managing to put their points forward. A very memorable occasion for all concerned.

Maureen Daniel, Honorary President Nan Lawson and Carl MacDougall

Seniors Meeting 26th April 2012 - Ian and Heulwen Hall
	The afternoon of Thursday, April 26, 2012 saw the Seniors group once again gather for a convivial lunch followed by entertaining music from Ian and Heulwen Hall.
	Ian and Heulwen are weel-kent faces in the RSCDS. For many years they have been staunch supporters of Summer School where Ian taught and Heulwen played piano for classes, also playing for dances in the Younger Hall with their son David's band and leading the choir for the Ceilidh entertainment in the evenings..
	Their long association with Scottish Country Dancing began 50 years ago with the Manchester Caledonian Society. Their love of music enlivened the household so much that their 4 children were brought up with music and dance, their younger son David forming his first band at the tender age of 16.
	The duo played many pieces of their personal favourite music, which were often favourites of the audience too, and they enthusiastically sang along. Interspersed with the music, Ian and Heulwen included the story of their lives and their family, and happily related their memories of shared musical experiences.

Seniors Meeting 13th October 2011 - Focus on Youth
This was an inspirational meeting. Three “youngsters” each gave an engaging and personal account of their involvement with Scottish Country Dancing.
Heather Battson [Glasgow Branch], gave a charming report of her “afternoon with the Queen”. Heather [dressed in the glamorous dress and pretty shoes she wore on that occasion] described her visit to Buckingham Palace. She represented the Society at a reception for 450 people held to recognise the achievement of young people in the performing arts. Heather had been chosen, Ruth Beattie [Society Chairman] informed us because she was a “rising star” in the society. Heather holds her teaching certificate and has been on Branch Committee and Convenor of the Demonstration Team for several years. Heather was accompanied by Irene Bennett, past Society chairman and now heavily involved in supporting Scottish Country dancing in schools. Irene represented those who support Young People in the Performing Arts.
Gary Coull [Banffshire Branch, a respected dance devisor and former Branch Chairman], gave a very amusing account of his experience of being in the 350 strong team performing at the closing ceremony of the Delhi Commonwealth Games. He described their 3 week training, time in India and gave us an insight the scale of the preparation for the event, only hinting at some of the tricks which allow such a stunning performance. Gary casually dressed in jeans and sweater showed us his impressive outfit of red shirt, vibrant tartan kilt and jaunty bonnet. Very reluctantly he was persuaded to don the bonnet but would only put the kilt on over his jeans.
Luke Brady [Dundee Branch], described his rise from young accordion player to Summer School musician and [at the ripe old age of 25] band leader with 2 CD releases under his belt. He modestly described the influence very well known musicians had on his progress as he felt privileged to be in the right place at the right time. When he first started playing for Scottish Country Dancing, he was inclined to play too fast; the class teacher solving this problem by putting him in a set and making him dance. Luke’s talk was liberally illustrated with his talented accordion playing.

George Meikle
Our 2nd visit to the Croockston Hotel on Wednesday, April 20th, 2011, was an extremely successful afternoon. To our great surprise and enjoyment we had a beautiful 3 course meal. The Christmas lunch had been cancelled due to bad weather and this was to make up for it.
After lunch, Ruth Beattie made a few announcements and was then presented with a hansome framed photograph of herself with her husband Philip. We then rearranged the furniture and Ruth introduced our guest George Meikle.
George began by playing a lively set of pipe marches and then told us a little of his musical history. Together with his father he took lessons from the age of 6 but hated them as he was forced to study many genres of music when he just wanted to concentrate on his passion for Scottish music. George played in his first band at 16.
After some more lively tunes, George spoke about his work as Musical Director for the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society and how the Music is selected for the dances they publish.
After a very emotive Dreamcatcher, George chose the tune Calum's Road to demonstrate the versatility of the tune by playing it in 6 different tempos; slow air, strathspey, march, jig, reel and waltz, but in reality demonstrated his own considerable musicianship.
George happily handled requests. He has all of his music on computer and can bring any tune up on screen in literally seconds. He went on to explain how his book Originally Ours [which contains the original tunes for all the Society dances] was commissioned.
The accordion George uses is fully digital with no reeds, and he used the tune Dark Island to illustrate its versatility, beginning very simply and building up to a very full band sound.


Thanks to George, Ruth, Katherine and Sandy for a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.

Gordon Simpson
On Thursday October 21, 2010, the Seniors group met in their new venue, Crookston Hotel. The group had previously been meeting at the Ewington Hotel, Queen's Park during the first 10 years of its existence, but closure of the Ewington over the Summer forced a change of venue.
	Lunch consisting of soup and tasty sandwiches, assisted in creating a pleasant atmosphere for members to chat to one another - subject matter not being restricted to "things dancing"
	The entertainmant was provided by the accomplished violinist Gordon Simpson, who has played for the Seniors Group on a couple of occasions previously and was back by popular demand.
	Gordon played a selection of jigs, reels, strathspeys, Scottish waltzes, slow air strathspeys, always with a little history about the tunes. He demonstrated how a good choice of tune in the middle of a dance set can give the dance a real lift, which often brings an enthusiatic response from the dancers. More than happy to take part in witty banter, Gordon demonstrated the sense of fun which makes him an extremely popular workshop leader and band member.
	A highlight of Gordon's performance was information about the 200 year old violin he was playing, one of 2 in his collection, made by Matthew Hardie, the "Scottish Stradivari". Hardie's instuments are known for their beauty as well as the quality of their tone. Sadly, Hardie died in the poor house, his business destroyed by cheaper, poorer quality instruments. Today, Hardie's violins are saught after and demand prices of several thousands of pounds.

Summer Outing

At 10.00 am on Wednesday August 4, 2010, Sandy & Katherine Morrison were very busy serving tea, coffee and goodies as the members of the Seniors Group gathered at their house. Sandy then drove the Community Transport minibus to Callander where we had a leisurely lunch at Poppies Hotel. On then to Brig o' Turk and Loch Katrine Pier. We sailed on the beautifully refurbished steamship Sir Walter Scott. The scenery was stunning and the commentary very informative. It looked like we were about to sail into rain when it was time to turn the boat round and head back to the sunshine. Time for coffee before heading back to Glasgow with only the lightest of showers as we were in the bus back home. Many thanks to Sandy and Katherine for organising this outing. [Photos - Dick Daniel] Move mouse over pictures to see more.

David Ross

Accordionist's Eye View

David Ross

On Wednesday, 28 April, 2010; the Seniors Group were entertained by accordionist and band leader David Ross. David began with a selection of popular Scottish tunes which got everyone singing along [that's why we are pulling strange faces in the photographs above]. David played some very tricky tunes which showed his tremendous versatility. When he asked for requests, David was inundated and he responded gladly. As we had, unusually, a dance floor David was asked to play for some well known country dances and we had one set dancing on the floor. A superb buffet, organised by Katherine and Sandy Morrison brought an extremely enjoyable afternoon to an end.

Tenth Anniversary Lunch

The 10th Anniversary of the Seniors Group was celebrated on Thursday October 29th, 2009 appropriately at the Ewington Hotel. After a pleasant lunch, an anniversary cake was cut by Rita Knox, longserving stalwart of the branch and Seniors Group. A bouquet of flowers was presented to Ruth Beattie by Katherine Morrison. The entertainment was provided by the Westertones and their feisty pianist Catherine Scott (she did have 7 men to control).

The Westertones presented an excellent program beginning with Stout Hearted Men and Can't You Hear the People Sing. Their varied performance included a couple of soloists and a dance Medley, Dashing White Sergeant, Glasgow Highlanders and Mairi's Wedding. Dougall McFarlane provided informative and often amusing introductions to each piece of music.

Celebrations contiue with a Christmas lunch and an outing to Troon in January.

Ruth Beattie [who has organised the group since its foundation], Helen & Graham Murray [who have assisted in the running of the group for many years], Rita Knox [longserving stalwart of the branch and Seniors Group, who cut the cake] and Katherine and Sandy Morrison who currently help Ruth to run the group.

The Westertones

Photos - Dick Daniel

Scottish Love Songs - Bob Blair

Bob Blair, a life member of the Society with many years experience of teaching dancing, entertained the Seniors group on Wednesday April, 22nd, 2009. Bob is a singer especially noted for his interpretation of Scottish lyrical songs and traditional ballads. He has lectured widely at Universities, Colleges and workshops at numerous festivals throughout the world, and a member of Stramash, a group of singers who care intensely about Scotland's traditional song heritage.

There's some say that kissin's a sin;
But I think it's nane at a',
For kissin' has wonn'd in this world
Since ever there has been twa,
For, if it wisnae lawful, lawyers wouldnae allow it;
And if it wisnae holy, ministers wouldnae dae it;
And if it wasnae modest, maidens wouldnae tak' it;
And if it wasnae plenty, puir folk wouldnae get it

Bob's Website

Bob opened with the poignant lines of the song above. Occasionally accompanying his fine voice with concertina and guitar, his program included songs of romantic love, unrequited love and "broken token". Bob sang hilariously funny parodies of traditional love songs, a song in one of his favouite dance rhythms, "the strathspey" and also gave us the opportunity to join in a great chorus song. Speaking enthusiastically about each of his songs, Bob gave us historical backgrounds and stories from his own experiences. This was an afternoon to remember and I've been playing Bob's CD ever since.

Chairman Margaret Weir organisers Katherine Morrison and Ruth Beattie with Bob Blair [Photos by Dick Daniel]

Some of the members at the lunch before Bob's performance

More Tales and Music - John Renton

Thursday, October 23, 2008 allowed us to see John Renton in a different light. He gave a fascinating talk on the History of Scottish fiddle music and Scottish Country Dancing. Members of the Advanced class had often enjoyed the wealth of information John could supply whenever he was asked about the music for a particular dance.

Very little information is in fact recorded. John told us how the first manuscripts available were for Lute Music before violins were made in Scotland and led us right up to the present day. He mentioned the influence of English country dancing, step dancing, the different types of tunes that were popular [originally Scots measure & minuets but later influenced by Irish, Shetland, Europe etc]. The old "Dancies" were often fiddlers who would write tunes in their own special notations and were well respected and often wealthy individuals with royal patrons.

John spoke of the valuable contribution of Playford, Gow, Scott Skinner, William Marshall, Kerr and the RSCDS in preserving Scottish music and had amusing stories about many of the influential names, and he spoke of the developement of jigs and strathspeys.

We couldn't let John go until he played us some of the wonderful music on his accordion. Our sincere thanks to John for an incredibly informative and entertaining talk.

Alasdair MacFadyen Remembers Glasgow Branch

Dr Alastair MacFadyen who is Honorary Vice President of Glasgow Branch and took over as President of The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society at the AGM in November, 2007 addressed the Seniors Group on Wednesday, April 23, 2008. He is a life member of the Society and has been active in Glasgow for over 40 years. We were entertained with Alastair's memoirs from his first arrival at Jordanhill college, his early kitchen duties when he first joined the committee, and the fun he had enjoyed at every stage of his dancing career. He modestly glossed over his own achievements as he has risen through the ranks of the Society to the highest office, concentrating on amusing stories of Glasgow Branch and the wonderful people he had worked with over the years. He had lots of memorabilia with him, including the first newsletters Glasgow published. No one was in a hurry to leave as everyone was keen to study his old photographs and identify the people in them.

An Afternoon of Gaelic Music

On the afternoon of Wednesday, October 24, 2007 the guest speaker was Branch Member, Johan MacLean who spoke about Gaelic Music to an appreciative audience, including several accomplished musicians. Johan chose examples from the huge varity of music to illustrate the different categories of songs, singing a verse and chorus from each piece. She included "Orain Luaidh" - communal work songs, often sung for waulking tweed; milking and walking songs which have very prominant rhythms, adding amusing anecdotes about the practices and gossiping of the workers. Johan gave us titbits of "Orain Mor” or big ballads, and songs of the sea, laments and leaving songs where the words are so poingant and beautiful. Johan read verses in her lyrical accent and translated passages to make her points. The work of the hugely successful Popular Modern group Runrig was praised as they write and perform in the traditional manner. The presentation ended with what we were all waiting for, a lively performance of "Puirt a Beul" - songs for dancing to, known in English as Mouth Music.

Our grateful thanks to Johan for an excellent afternoons entertainment particularly as she was struggling to fight off a lingering cold.

Outing to St Andrews

A group of 11 visited St. Andrews Summer School on Thursday, June 9, 2007. They were warmly met by Course Director John Wilkinson at New Hall where they enjoyed a spectacular buffet lunch. After lunch they were taken to St Salvators Hall where most of the activities were taking place. Muriel Bone, a branch member and teacher on the course took them on a tour round the building and the visitors were invited to attend a "Walk Through" class for the people attending the dance in the Younger Hall that night. There was plenty time for a leisurely walk through the busy town or along the beach on this lovely summer's day.

John Renton

On Wednesday, April 25, 2007 John Renton the leader of the John Renton Scottish Country Dance Band entertained the Seniors Group with his superb skills on the Accordion. He began with our Scottish Strathspeys. John played Scottish Jigs and Reels and Irish Jigs and Reels and talked about the differences between them. We were treated to Waltzes, Hornpipes and Polkas and 2/4, 4/4 and 6/8 Marches. John has a his huge collection of tunes and talked very knowledgeably about the music, giving us a great insight into the legendary Scottish Composers and how their work had developed. Modesty prevented John from playing any of the large number of tunes that he has written himself and this gives us a good reason to invite him again soon.

Country Dancing and The World Wide Web

On Thursday, October 19, 2006 Patrick Murray gave a talk to the Seniors Group on Country Dancing and The World Wide Web. He began with a quiz inviting the audience to identify people in photographs taken 30 years ago. This was extremely well received as some of the people featured were in the Audience. He gave a very professional presentation on the Primary Schools Festival in March and then went on to show what information is available on the Web for Country Dancing, including animated diagrams and short video clips of dances being performed.

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